Live ticker relegation
Unfortunate own goal – Düsseldorf leads in Bochum
Status: 20:44 | Reading time: 3 minutes
VfL Bochum is fighting to stay in the league, Fortuna Düsseldorf is fighting for promotion
Quelle: Getty Images/Christof Koepsel
Will VfL Bochum save itself or will Fortuna Düsseldorf be promoted to the Bundesliga? The Bundesliga club welcomes Fortuna for the relegation first leg. Follow the relegation here in the live ticker.
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Bochum captain Anthony Losilla tried to push aside the fuss surrounding the ejection of goalkeeper Manuel Riemann as best he could. “We need rest in order to work properly,” said the experienced leader before the relegation against Fortuna Düsseldorf. “It’s not just about us, it’s about something really big – the whole club, a lot of people who work here. We have to fight for that.”
The message is clear: the focus in the most important matches in the club’s recent history should be on football, and the team should somehow avoid relegation. Relegation to the 2nd Bundesliga would have huge consequences, not just in terms of sport, but also financially. According to VfL, they would have to calculate with around 40 percent less TV revenue for the second league than for the current Bundesliga season. For Fortuna, promotion would mean additional revenue in various areas of around 30 million euros.
On paper, Bochum is slightly favored as a first division team before the first leg this Thursday (8.30 p.m./Sat.1 and Sky). Above all, the current emotional and mood situation speaks against VfL. The Riemann bang, weak Bochum and strong Düsseldorf performances recently – emotionally, Fortuna, which has not lost in the 2nd Bundesliga since the beginning of February, has a clear advantage.
While fear of relegation is spreading around the Ruhrstadion, the Düsseldorf team is also tense, but above all excited about the chance to be promoted. “We simply deserve these two wonderful games,” said coach Daniel Thioune on Wednesday. “Now there is only one goal: we want to leave the league next Monday.”
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While the Fortuna coach has a “complete buffet” of players at his disposal and can prepare his team in peace, Bochum coach Heiko Butscher has several areas to work on. The most recent sporting performances in the 1:4 defeat in Bremen and the 0:5 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen are already demanding enough capacity. In addition, Butscher now also has to compensate for the absence of his moody regular goalkeeper, who is important with his very active style of play and long clearances in addition to his core role between the posts.
At least: His sports director Patrick Fabian took over part of the moderation of the controversial topic on Wednesday. “Manu’s sporting value is undisputed, of course we would have preferred it all to be different,” said the 36-year-old on Thursday. “I’m not happy about having this situation now. But we have to deal with it, it’s only about VfL now.” In such situations, there is “no grey area, only black or white.”
Riemann repeatedly clashed with fellow players. His outbursts, which sometimes seemed strange and were clearly visible in the stadiums, repeatedly caused people to shake their heads over the course of the season.
